Automated service request system

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method includes: monitoring, by a user device, a location of the user device; determining, by the user device and based on the monitoring, that the user is within a threshold distance or a threshold arrival time of the service provider location; and outputting, by the user device, user information to the service provider based on the determining that the user is within the threshold distance or the threshold arrival time of the service provider location. The user information indicates services to provide to the user by the service provider upon the user&#39;s arrival to the service provider location. The outputting causes the service provider to receive the user information for serving the user upon the user&#39;s arrival to the service provider location.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to automated service requestsystems and, more particularly, to automated service request systemsbased on user location.

Hotel providers typically provide luggage assistance services,wheelchair services, and/or other types of services for hotel guests.Upon check-in, hotel staff may be unprepared to receive guests, as guestarrival times can be unpredictable. Thus, hotel services may be delayedupon a guest's arrival. For example, hotel staff may be unavailable orunprepared to assist an arriving guest with luggage, escorting to thehotel facility, wheelchair/other medical accommodation, etc. Delays inproviding assistance to hotel guests can be inconvenient for the guest,and may diminish customer satisfaction.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the invention, a computer-implemented method comprises:monitoring, by a user device, a location of the user device;determining, by the user device and based on the monitoring, that theuser is within a threshold distance or a threshold arrival time of theservice provider location; and outputting, by the user device, userinformation to the service provider based on the determining that theuser is within the threshold distance or the threshold arrival time ofthe service provider location. The user information indicates servicesto provide to the user by the service provider upon the user's arrivalto the service provider location. The outputting causes the serviceprovider to receive the user information for serving the user upon theuser's arrival to the service provider location.

In an aspect of the invention, there is a computer program product forproviding a service to a user upon the user's arrival to a serviceprovider location. The computer program product comprises a computerreadable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith,the program instructions executable by a user device to cause the userdevice to: monitor a location of the user device; determine, based onthe monitoring, that a user of the user device is en route to a serviceprovider; and output user information to the service provider based onthe determining that the user is en route to the service provider. Theuser information indicates services to provide to the user by theservice provider upon the user's arrival to a location or facility ofthe service provider, and the outputting causes the service provider toreceive the user information and generate a service list based on theuser information.

In an aspect of the invention, a system comprises: a CPU, a computerreadable memory and a computer readable storage medium associated with acomputing device; program instructions to receive user information froma user device, wherein the user information indicates services toprovide to the user by a service provider upon the user's arrival to alocation or facility of the service provider, wherein the information isreceived when the user device is within a threshold distance or athreshold arrival time of the location or facility of the serviceprovider; program instructions to generate a suggested service listbased on the user information; program instructions to output thesuggested service list to the user device; program instructions toreceive selected services based on outputting the suggested servicelist; program instructions to display or output the user information orthe receive selected services for serving the user upon the user'sarrival to the location or facility of the service provider. The programinstructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium forexecution by the CPU via the computer readable memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an overview of an example implementation inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example environment in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 shows an example flowchart for outputting user information to aservice provider computing system as the user is en route to the serviceprovider's location in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an example flowchart for receiving user information inpreparation for a user's arrival to a service provider location inaccordance with aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention generally relates to automated service requestsystems and, more particularly, to automated service request systemsbased on user location. Aspects of the present disclosure may includesystems and/or methods that automatically notify a service provider(e.g., staff personnel of a hotel, restaurant, medical facility, etc.)of the impending arrival of a user (e.g., a guest, customer, patron,etc.). Further, the systems and/or methods may provide the serviceprovider with information regarding the user based on which apersonalized service list may be generated for the user. For example, aservice provider (e.g., a hotel staff) may be notified of the impendingarrival of a user (e.g., a hotel guest) using geofencing techniques thatnotify the service provider when the user's user device (e.g., mobilephone, tablet, etc) is within a threshold distance or threshold arrivingtime of the service provider's facility (e.g., as the user is en routeto the service provider's facility or location). Further, a serviceprovider computing system may receive user information, and generate aservice list based on the user's information. As described herein, userinformation may include the user's name, preferences, requestedservices, hotel reservation information, etc.

As an example, the service provider computing system may generate aservice list that indicates services to provide the user upon the user'sarrival to the service provider's facility. Example services may includeluggage assistance for a particular number of bags, disability services,providing wheelchair/scooters, providing strollers for children,escorting or accompanying the user from a parking lot to the hotelfacility, vehicle parking services, premium or upgraded hotel room orother services, etc. The service provider computing system may providethe service list to service provider personnel such that the personnelmay assist the user as indicated in the service list. In embodiments,the personnel may receive the user's location from the user's userdevice in order to better assist the user.

As described herein, the user may be provided with an opportunity tocustomize the service list, or cancel/prevent a service request frombeing processed. For example, after receiving the user's information,the service provider computing system may provide the service list tothe user device. The user device may display the list of services, andmay provide a user interface that permits the user to modify the list ofservices, confirm the services, or deny the services altogether.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementations of theteachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computingenvironment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention are capable ofbeing implemented in conjunction with any other type of computingenvironment now known or later developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a nonremovable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage devices 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow.

Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82 provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing 95; and service list generation 96.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the Program/utility 40 may include one or moreprogram modules 42 that generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein, suchas the functionally of service list generation 96 of FIG. 3.Specifically, the program modules 42 may receive user information,generate a service list based on the user information, and display userinformation and selected services for service provider personnel. Otherfunctionalities of the program modules 42 are described further hereinsuch that the program modules 42 are not limited to the functionsdescribed above. Moreover, it is noted that some of the modules 42 canbe implemented within the infrastructure shown in FIGS. 1-3. Forexample, the modules 42 may be implemented in a service providercomputing system as shown in FIG. 4A.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an overview of an example implementation inaccordance with aspects of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, ageofence may be defined around a service provider location. The geofencemay be user configurable and may be represented as a threshold radiusdistance from the service provider location, or as a threshold arrivaltime from the service provider location. As shown in FIG. 4A, a userdevice 210 may enter into the geofence (at step 1.1). For example, auser of the user device 210 may enter into the geofence as the userapproaches the service provider location. The user device 210 maymonitor a location of the user device 210 using, for example, globalposition system (GPS) techniques. The user device 210 may determine thatthe user device 210 has entered to within the geofence. Based onentering within the geofence, the user device 210 may output userinformation to a service provider computing system 220 (at step 1.2).For example, as described herein, the user information may identify theuser, historical services requested by the user, services selected orrequested by the user, etc.

As shown in FIG. 4B, the service provider computing system 220 maydisplay the user's information in addition to a service list (e.g.,requested services). In the example of FIG. 4B, the service list mayinclude luggage assistance for 3 large bags, and a request for awheelchair. The service provider computing system 220 may also displaythe user's parking space. For example, the service provider computingsystem 220 may communicate with an external parking assignment system toobtain an assigned parking space for the user. Additionally, oralternatively, the user may manually provide parking information in theevent that the user has made previous parking arrangements. The parkinginformation may be used by service provider personnel to greet the userat the user's parking location. The information shown in FIG. 4B may beprinted or provided to a mobile device of service provider personnelsuch that the personnel can easily identify the requested services toprovide to the user upon the user's arrival. Further, managementpersonnel may use the information to arrange for the services to beprovided (e.g., by assigning the appropriate personnel and resourcesrequired to fulfill the listed services).

While the above example is described in terms of a hotel as a serviceprovider, the systems and/or methods, described herein, may be appliedfor other types of service providers (e.g., emergency medical serviceproviders, restaurants, event venues, etc.). For example, emergencymedical service providers may be notified when a patient is within athreshold distance of the emergency medical service facility and, inturn, receive the patient's information (unless the user deniesservice). In this way, emergency medical service providers may be betterprepared to receive the patient. In embodiments, a determination may bemade that a user is a medical patient based on the user's location.Further, the user may provide a confirmation that the user is a patientseeking medical attention. As another example, restaurant staff mayreceive an indication that customer is arriving at the restaurantfacility, and may receive a request for a particular service (e.g., abirthday greeting service). In this way, the restaurant is prepared togreet the customer upon arrival and provide the requested service.

In embodiments, the user's information may be stored in a user profile,and the user information may be based on prior user activity (e.g.,prior services obtained by the user), public user information from theuser's social media account, and/or information manually entered by theuser (e.g., specific requested services). In embodiments, the userinformation may be obtained from one or more cloud-based externaldatabases. In embodiments, the user's medical records may be used withthe user's expressed permission (e.g., so that medical relatedaccommodations and services may be provided, such as medical equipment,oxygen tanks, walkers, wheelchairs, etc.).

In embodiments, one user's profile may be combined with another user'sprofile. For example, if user A frequently travels with user B, theprofiles for user A and user B can be linked such that the preferencesof both users are accommodated upon the arrival of user A and user B. Inembodiments, multiple user profiles may be linked when user devicesassociated with multiple users are within close proximity. For example,user device A may detect that user device B is within close proximity ofuser device A using a Bluetooth radio, near field communications (NFC)radio, and/or other technique. Based on detecting that user device A andB are within close proximities, the profiles for user A and user B maybe linked. The linked profiles may be sent to the service providercomputing system such that the culmination of services for all users ina party can be provided for the entire party upon the party's arrival(e.g., when the party is traveling in the same vehicle or convoy).

In embodiments, the user device may include a specialized applicationthat notifies the service provider computing system of the user'slocation when the user device is within a threshold distance or arrivingtime of the service provider facility. The application may provide theuser information, user requested services, and/or other information tothe service provider computing system based on which the serviceprovider computing system may generate a service list for the user. Theapplication may include a user interface via which the user may confirm,modify, or deny the service list. The application may also provide theuser's location to the service provider computing system. Additionally,or alternatively, the application may include an estimated time ofarrival (ETA) of the user to the service provider facility, and the ETAmay be updated based on traffic conditions, etc. In embodiments, theapplication may be used to link multiple user profiles. For example, theapplication may allow user A to designate user B as a travelingcompanion. Further, the application may determine that multiple usersare within close proximity and, in turn, may link user profiles. In analternative embodiment, the application may notify the service providercomputing system of the user's location when the user device is within athreshold distance or arriving time of the service provider facility andwhen the user is stopped for a threshold amount of time.

In embodiments, the service provider computing system may register tooffer services to users. For example, the service provider computingsystem may register to receive information regarding the arrival ofusers. Further, the service provider computing system may register otherdevices (e.g., user devices of service provider personnel) to receivethe user information and notifications of user arrival.

In embodiments, individuals may also be service providers. For example,individuals or groups of individuals may register as service providers,and may register the types of services that they are able to provide(and associated fees). A calendar invite scheduling system may be usedby a requesting user to request services from a group of nearbyindividual service providers. When a user who needs assistance arrivesat a target location, a notification may be sent to all nearby availableindividual service providers announcing the user's location and the typeof assistance needed. To prevent confusion and unnecessary extra help,acceptance of a task can be communicated (e.g., via an “Accept” button)so that everyone in a group of individual service providers stayinformed of the most up-to-date request status.

FIG. 5 shows an example environment in accordance with aspects of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 5, environment 500 may include auser device 210, a service provider computing system 220, a externaluser information server 230, and/or network 240. In embodiments, one ormore components in environment 200 may correspond to one or morecomponents in the cloud computing environment of FIG. 2.

The user device 210 may include a computer device capable ofcommunicating via a network, such as the network 240. For example, theuser device 210 may correspond to a mobile communication device (e.g., asmart phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA)), a portable computerdevice (e.g., a laptop or a tablet computer), or another type of device.As shown in FIG. 5, the user device 210 may include a service requestapplication 215 that implements one or more of the processes describedherein in connection with notifying a service provider of a user'sarrival to a service provider location, and providing user information.For example, the service request application 215 may monitor a locationof the user device 210, detect that the user device 210 is within athreshold distance or arrival time of a service provider location, andoutput user information to a service provider computing system 220 basedon detecting that the user device 210 within the threshold distance.Further, the service request application 215 may receive a suggestedservice list, and may receive selections (e.g., from a user of the userdevice 210) to confirm or modify the suggested service list.

The service provider computing system 220 may include one or morecomputing devices, displays, etc., running a service list generationcomponent 296 that implements one or more of the processes describedherein. For example, the service provider computing system 220 maycomprise the computer system/server 12 of FIG. 1 and the service listgeneration component 296 may comprise a module 42 of FIG. 1. Inembodiments, the service list generation component 296 may receivenotifications regarding the impending arrival of a user (e.g., when theuser's user device 210 enters a geofenced perimeter). The serviceprovider computing system 220 may further receive user information,generate a service list based on the user information, and provideinformation regarding the service list to service personnel (e.g., to auser device 210 of the service personnel).

The external user information server 230 may include one or morecomputing devices that from which user information may be obtained. Forexample, external user information server 230 may include serversassociated with social media networks, electronic health records, usercalendar information, etc. Information stored by the external userinformation server 230 may be accessed for building a user profile whichis used to generate a service list for the user.

The network 240 may include network nodes, such as network nodes 10 ofFIG. 2.

Additionally, or alternatively, the network 240 may include one or morewired and/or wireless networks. For example, the network 240 may includea cellular network (e.g., a second generation (2G) network, a thirdgeneration (3G) network, a fourth generation (4G) network, a fifthgeneration (5G) network, a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a globalsystem for mobile (GSM) network, a code division multiple access (CDMA)network, an evolution-data optimized (EVDO) network, or the like), apublic land mobile network (PLMN), and/or another network. Additionally,or alternatively, the network 240 may include a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan network (MAN), thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), an ad hoc network, a managedInternet Protocol (IP) network, a virtual private network (VPN), anintranet, the Internet, a fiber optic-based network, and/or acombination of these or other types of networks.

The quantity of devices and/or networks in the environment 500 is notlimited to what is shown in FIG. 5. In practice, the environment 500 mayinclude additional devices and/or networks; fewer devices and/ornetworks; different devices and/or networks; or differently arrangeddevices and/or networks than illustrated in FIG. 5. Also, in someimplementations, one or more of the devices of the environment 500 mayperform one or more functions described as being performed by anotherone or more of the devices of the environment 500. Devices of theenvironment 500 may interconnect via wired connections, wirelessconnections, or a combination of wired and wireless connections.

FIG. 6 shows an example flowchart for outputting user information to aservice provider computing system as the user is en route to the serviceprovider's location in accordance with aspects of the present invention.The steps of FIG. 6 may be implemented in the environment of FIG. 5, forexample, and are described using reference numbers of elements depictedin FIG. 5. As noted above, the flowchart illustrates the architecture,functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems,methods, and computer program products according to various embodimentsof the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, process 600 may include monitoring a location of auser device (step 610). For example, the service request application 215of the user device 210 may monitor the location of the user device 210(e.g., using GPS techniques) when the user of the user device 210 opensthe service request application 215 (e.g., via user input on a userinterface of user device 210). As an example, the user may open servicerequest application 215 when the user is en route to the serviceprovider's location. Further, the user may indicate using the servicerequest application 215 that the user is en route to the serviceprovider location, and the service request application 215 may monitorthe location of user device 210 based on this indication. For example,the user may input a destination address corresponding to the serviceprovider location. In embodiments, the service request application 215may monitor the location of user device 210 without user interaction.For example, the service request application 215 may store or accessinformation indicating the user's plans to visit a service provider(e.g., a hotel), and may begin monitoring the location of the userdevice 210 beginning at a threshold time before the user is planning tovisit the service provider. As an example, the service requestapplication 215 may access the user's calendar, social mediainformation, and/or other information to determine that the user isplanning on staying at a hotel at a particular date and time. Theservice request application 215 may begin monitoring the location of theuser device 210 at a threshold time before when the user plans oninitially checking in to the hotel. Further, the service requestapplication 215 may determine that the user is en route to the serviceprovider's location by monitoring the location of the user device 210and determining, based on the location monitoring, that the user device210 is traveling towards the service provider's location.

Process 600 may further include determining that the user device iswithin a threshold distance or arrival time of the service providerlocation (step 620). For example, the service request application 215 ofthe user device 210 may determine that the user device 210 is within athreshold distance of the service provider location (e.g., within aconfigurable geofence). Additionally, or alternatively, the servicerequest application 215 may detect that the user device 210 is within athreshold arrival time of the service provider location (e.g., based onthe user's travel speed, traffic conditions, etc.). In embodiments, thethreshold distance and/or the threshold arrival times may bepreconfigured, editable, and/or based on user and/or service providerpreferences.

Process 600 may further include outputting user information to theservice provider computing system (step 630). For example, the servicerequest application 215 of the user device 210 may output userinformation (e.g., a user profile) to the service provider computingsystem 220 based on determining that the user device 210 is within thethreshold distance of the service provider's location or facility.Additionally, or alternatively, the service request application 215 ofthe user device 210 may output user information based on determiningthat the user is en route to the service provider location (e.g., asdescribed above with respect to step 610). In embodiments, the servicerequest application 215 may output the user information via an API ofthe service request application 215. As described herein, the userprofile may be populated in advance by the user. Additionally, oralternatively, the service request application 215 may provide the userwith an opportunity to add information relating to requested services(e.g., when the user is within a threshold distance or arrival time ofthe service provider location). In embodiments, the user profile may bebased on historical user activity, preferences, previously requestedservices, health records, and/or other information regarding the userthat the user has permitted to be included in the user profile. Forexample, the service request application 215 may store the user profileinformation and/or obtain the user profile information from the externaluser information server 230.

Additionally, or alternatively, the user profile may include structuredor parsed text (e.g., from the user's social media profile) that mayindicate services that user may wish to receive from the serviceprovider. As an illustrative example, the user profile may includeinformation that indicates that the user is traveling with smallchildren (e.g., based on a social media posting stating “traveling toSan Francisco with the twins”). In this example, the text may indicatethat the user may wish to receive child travel assistance (e.g.,strollers, luggage assistance, etc.).

As described herein, multiple user profiles may be consolidated orlinked, and consolidated user information for a party may be provided tothe service provider computing system 220. For example, user profiles ofusers associated with different user devices 210 may be linked when theuser devices 210 are within a threshold proximity of each other and bothtraveling to a service provider (e.g., based on GPS information from theuser device 210, Bluetooth signal triangulation, NFC techniques, etc.).Additionally, or alternatively, user profiles for users who frequentlytravel together may be linked. For example, if user A frequently travelswith user B (e.g., as identified by user profiles for user A and user Bindicating the travel patterns of user A and user B), the profiles foruser A and user B can be linked such that the preferences of both usersare accommodated upon the arrival of user A and user B to a serviceprovider. In embodiments, the service request application 215 mayprovide an interface via which user input may be received to manuallylink multiple user profiles.

In embodiments, the user information may be outputted to an emergencymedical service provider (e.g., in a situation in which the userinformation indicates that the user is a patient in need of medicalservices). For example, a determination may be made that a user is amedical patient based on the user's location and destination (e.g., asinputted by the user). Further, the user may provide a confirmation thatthe user is a patient seeking medical attention (e.g., via a userinterface of the service request application 215). In this way,emergency medical service providers may be better prepared to receivethe patient.

In embodiments, the user's location may be shared with the serviceprovider computing system 220 so that service provider personnel canprepare to greet the user upon the user's arrival to the serviceprovider location. For example, the user device 210 may stream locationinformation (e.g., GPS data) to the service provider computing system220 so that the service provider computing system 220 may track thelocation of the user. In embodiments, the user information may includevehicle information and/or parking space location information so thatthe service provider personnel can prepare to greet the user upon theuser's arrival to the parking space location. Further, the userinformation may include the user's estimated time of arrival to theservice provider location. Also, the user information may include theuser's contact information (e.g., mobile phone number) so that serviceprovider personnel may contact the user to discuss the user's requestedservices.

Process 600 may also include receiving a suggested service listincluding services associated with the user information (step 640). Forexample, the user device 210 may receive the suggested service list fromthe service provider computing system 220. In embodiments, the suggestedservice list may be displayed via the service request application 215.As described herein, the suggested service list may be based on the userinformation. For example, the suggested service list may includeservices explicitly requested by the user (e.g., escorting from aparking lot to the service provider's facility entrance), medicalservices based on the user's health conditions (e.g., providing of awheelchair, walker, crutches, and/or other medical equipment), luggageassistance based on user information indicating the amount of luggagewith which the user may have traveled, child strollers based on userinformation indicating that the user has traveled with children, etc.

Process 600 may further include presenting the suggested service list tothe user and receiving selections for desired services (step 650). Forexample, the user device 210 may display the suggested service list asindividually selectable options in a user interface, and receiveselections for desired services from the user via the service requestapplication 215. In embodiments, the selections may include one or moreof the services from the suggested service list as described at step640. For example, the user may accept or deny particular suggestedservices that are displayed via the user interface. Additionally, oralternatively, the user may select to add services.

Process 600 may also include outputting selections for desired services(step 660). For example, the user device 210 may output the selectionsfor the desired services to the service provider computing system 220.Service personnel may use the selections to prepare for the user'sarrival to the service provider location. For example, the serviceprovider personnel may prepare for the user's arrival by deploying theresources and/or equipment required to fulfill the user's requests.

In embodiments, one or more process steps from process 600 may beomitted. For example, once the user information has been output to theservice provider computing system 220 (step 630), process 600 may end.Further, as described herein, service request application 215 maymonitor the location of the user device 210 (at step 610) withoutreceiving an instruction from the user to do so. In this way, the user'sinformation may be automatically provided to the service providercomputing system 220 without the need for the user to interact with theuser device 210, and service provider personnel can use the user'sinformation to better serve the user when the user arrives at theservice provider's location.

FIG. 7 shows an example flowchart for receiving user information inpreparation for a user's arrival to a service provider location inaccordance with aspects of the present invention. The steps of FIG. 7may be implemented in the environment of FIG. 5, for example, and aredescribed using reference numbers of elements depicted in FIG. 5. Asnoted above, the flowchart illustrates the architecture, functionality,and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, andcomputer program products according to various embodiments of thepresent invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, process 700 may include receiving user information(step 710). For example, the service provider computing system 220 mayreceive the user information from the user device 210 (e.g., asdescribed above with respect to step 630). Process 700 may furtherinclude generating a suggested service list based on the userinformation (step 720). For example, the service provider computingsystem 220 may generate the suggested service list based on the userinformation. As described herein, the service provider computing system220 may match user information to services. For example, userinformation indicating that the user is traveling with children may bematched to a service to provide child strollers. Further, userinformation indicating that the user is immobile (e.g., health records,etc.) may be matched to a service to provide a wheelchair. Inembodiments, the user information may identify requested services, andthe service provider computing system 220 may include the requestedservices in the suggested service list. In embodiments, the serviceprovider computing system 220 may identify services that the user haspreviously received, and include previously received services in thesuggested service list. For example, over the course of time, theservice provider computing system 220 may track and store informationidentifying the services that the user has previously received.

Process 700 may also include outputting the suggested service list tothe user device (step 730). For example, the service provider computingsystem 220 may output the suggested service list to the user device 210,and the user device 210 may output selections for desired services, asdescribed above with respect to process steps 650 and 660. Process 700may further include receiving selected services from the user device 210(step 740). For example, the service provider computing system 220 mayreceive the selected services from the user device 210, and may displayor output the user's information and the selected services (step 750).For example, the service provider computing system 220 may output theuser's information to a service provider's user device 210. The user'sinformation may include the user's real-time location so that theservice provider may track the user's location in order to greet theuser when the user arrives at the service provider location.Additionally, or alternatively, the service provider computing system220 may display the user information and/or selected services.

In embodiments, one or more process steps from process 700 may beomitted or modified. For example, step 720-740 may be omitted when theuser information (at step 710) identifies requested services. In thisway, the service provider computing system 220 may simply receive theuser information, and display or output the user information and therequested services. Further, certain steps of process 700 may beperformed by the user device 210. For example, the user device 210 maygenerate the service list based on the user information, and may outputthe service list to the service provider computing system 220 (e.g.,when the user device 210 is within a threshold arrival time or distancefrom the service provider location).

In embodiments, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator, couldoffer to perform the processes described herein. In this case, theservice provider can create, maintain, deploy, support, etc., thecomputer infrastructure that performs the process steps of the inventionfor one or more customers. These customers may be, for example, anybusiness that uses technology. In return, the service provider canreceive payment from the customer(s) under a subscription and/or feeagreement and/or the service provider can receive payment from the saleof advertising content to one or more third parties.

In still additional embodiments, the invention provides acomputer-implemented method, via a network. In this case, a computerinfrastructure, such as computer system/server 12 (FIG. 1), can beprovided and one or more systems for performing the processes of theinvention can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used, modified,etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. To this extent, thedeployment of a system can comprise one or more of: (1) installingprogram code on a computing device, such as computer system/server 12(as shown in FIG. 1), from a computer-readable medium; (2) adding one ormore computing devices to the computer infrastructure; and (3)incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing systems of thecomputer infrastructure to enable the computer infrastructure to performthe processes of the invention.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising:monitoring, by a user device, a location of the user device;determining, by the user device and based on the monitoring, that a useris within a threshold distance or a threshold arrival time of a serviceprovider location; and outputting, by the user device, user informationto the service provider based on the determining that the user is withinthe threshold distance or the threshold arrival time of the serviceprovider location, wherein the user information indicates services toprovide to the user by the service provider upon the user's arrival tothe service provider location, the outputting causes the serviceprovider to receive the user information for serving the user upon theuser's arrival to the service provider location; the outputting the userinformation includes linking information regarding multiple usersthrough a computer network and outputting the information regardingmultiple users; and the linking the information regarding multiple usersincludes determining that the multiple users are within a thresholdproximity of each other via at least one from the group consisting ofBluetooth communication and near field communication (NFC).
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: receiving a suggested servicelist based on outputting the user information to the service provider;displaying the suggested service list via a user interface (UI) of theuser device; receiving user selections, via the UI, to accept or denyservices in the suggested service list; and outputting the userselections for desired services to the service provider.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user information includes information regardingservices previously obtained by the user or information included in acalendar of the user.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein a solutionsintegrator at least one of creates, maintains, deploys and supports acomputing system for receiving the user information.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein steps of claim 1 are provided by a solutions integratorprovider on a subscription, advertising, and/or fee basis.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user device includes software provided as aservice in a cloud environment.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein themonitoring the location of the user device comprises monitoring thelocation of the user device when a service request application is openedby a user of the user device.
 8. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising receiving an indication that the user is en route to theservice provider location via the service request application.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein receiving the indication that the user is enroute to the service provider location comprises receiving an address ofthe service provider location via a user interface of the user device.10. The method of claim 7, wherein the service request applicationbegins monitoring the location of the user device at a threshold timebefore the user leaves for the service provider location.
 11. The methodof claim 7, wherein the monitoring the location of the user deviceincludes monitoring at least one from the group consisting of the user'scalendar and the user's social media information.
 12. A computer programproduct for providing a service to a user upon the user's arrival to aservice provider location the computer program product comprising acomputer readable storage medium having program instructions embodiedtherewith, the program instructions executable by a user device to causethe user device to: monitor a location of the user device; determine,based on the monitoring, that a user of the user device is en route to aservice provider; and output user information to the service providerbased on the determining that the user is en route to the serviceprovider, wherein the user information indicates services to provide tothe user by the service provider upon the user's arrival to a locationor facility of the service provider, the outputting causes the serviceprovider to receive the user information and generate a service listbased on the user information; the outputting the user informationincludes linking information regarding multiple users through a computernetwork and outputting the information regarding the multiple users; andthe linking the information regarding the multiple users includesdetermining that the multiple users are within a threshold proximity ofeach other via at least one from the group consisting of Bluetoothcommunication and near field communication (NFC).
 13. The computerprogram product of claim 12, wherein the program instructions furthercause the user device to: determine that the user is within a thresholddistance of the location or facility of the service provider, whereinthe outputting the user information to the service provider is furtherbased on determining that the user is within the threshold distance ofthe location or facility of the service provider.
 14. The computerprogram product of claim 12, wherein the program instructions furthercause the user device to determine that the user is within a thresholdarrival time of the location or facility of the service provider,wherein outputting the user information to the service provider isfurther based on determining that the user is within a threshold arrivaltime of the location or facility of the service provider.
 15. Thecomputer program product of claim 12, wherein the user informationincludes at least one of: user name; user contact information; userhealth information; user luggage information; and services requested bythe user.
 16. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein theservices include at least one of: a luggage assistance service; avehicle parking service; a medical assistance service; a childassistance service; an accompaniment service; and a service requested bythe user;
 17. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein theprogram instructions further cause the user device to: receive asuggested service list based on outputting the user information to theservice provider; display the suggested service list via a userinterface (UI); receive user selections, via the UI, to accept or denyservices in the suggested service list; and output the user selectionsto the service provider.
 18. The computer program product of claim 12,wherein the linking the information regarding multiple users includesreceiving user input that the multiple users are associated with eachother.
 19. The computer program product of claim 12, wherein themonitoring the location of the user device begins at a threshold timebefore the user leaves for the service provider location.
 20. Thecomputer program product of claim 12, wherein the monitoring thelocation of the user device includes monitoring at least one from thegroup consisting of the user's calendar and the user's social mediainformation.